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As many of you know, Helen Mirren is the one woman that could turn me straight. TSM celebrated the brilliant, beautiful, feisty Mirren during Women’s History Month. From her courageous role as DCI Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect where we see the hardships of pioneering women breaking into a male dominated field, to amazing performances as in Elizabeth I and then as Elizabeth II in The Queen, Mirren demonstrated her stellar talents while captivating our hearts.

Of course, when I saw the NPR article: Twenty Iconic Male Movie Roles in Which Helen Mirren Would Have Ruled, I knew I would have to do another blog post on our Dame Helen. Two of the roles NPR mentions I chuckled but categorically agree with: Helen Mirren is Obi-wan Kenobi, and I could absolutely see our Dame Helen as Howard Beale in Network. Click here to see the full list of movies. Like Jane Tennison, Mirren is very aware of what it takes to survive in a culture that privileges men over women as Hollywood privileges youth over talent.

I also want to take some time to recognize two other women today.

Happy Birthday, Mary Shelley. Shelley was the daughter of Mary Wollstonecraft and is best known for her novel, Frankenstein. She also served as editor for her husband, Percy Shelley’s, poetry.

Nothing contributes so much to tranquilize the mind as a steady purpose — a point on which the soul may fix its intellectual eye.–Mary Shelley

Finally, I would like to say Happy Birthday to Lillie Rosa Minoka-Hill. Minoka Hill was the second Native American woman doctor in the United States, following Susan La Flesche Picotte.